Uprooted Palestinians are at the heart of the conflict in the M.E Palestinians uprooted by force of arms. Yet faced immense difficulties have survived, kept alive their history and culture, passed keys of family homes in occupied Palestine from one generation to the next.

Israel agreed to pay $20 million in reparations to surviving family members, along with other mutually agreed on terms. Gaza remains besieged despite Ankara claiming otherwise.

At the same time, Erdogan apologized to Putin by letter for downing a Russian Su-24 warplane flying over Syria – at the time, falsely claimed to have entered Turkish airspace.

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, “(a) telephone conversation between President Putin and President Erdogan will take place (on Wednesday, June 29) at the initiative of the Russian side.” He stopped short of indicating whether normalized relations would follow.

Were either or both of these events connected to Tuesday night’s incident? Again, it’s unknown at this time.

No claim of responsibility followed the attack. Prime Minister Binali Yildirm blamed ISIS, saying “(t)he findings of our security forces point at the Daesh organization as the perpetrators of this terror attack.”

Erdogan called for a “joint fight” against terrorism, saying nothing about his support for ISIS, letting them operate freely from Turkish territory, supplying them with arms and munitions, selling their stolen Syrian and Iraqi oil – he, his family and other regime officials profiting hugely.

It begs the question. Why would ISIS attack an important benefactor? Others include America, NATO, Israel, Saudi Arabia and other regional states.

Erdogan is at war with Kurds in three countries, naked aggression by any standard – at home, in Syria and Iraq. Yet he didn’t blame their fighters for what happened.

While it’s unknown if Tuesday’s incident was state-sponsored, previous similar ones in Europe and America suggest it. The fullness of time should tell.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”